


just colorful days

by ohallows (dean_n_pie)



Series: when you fall in love [2]
Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: A sprinkling of angst, M/M, literally fluff, post-jack drake finding out tim is robin, teen titans au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 14:04:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10492497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dean_n_pie/pseuds/ohallows
Summary: Conner's always been able to find Tim | Ways you said "I love you" - from very far away





	

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaa this is a cute fic i don't normally write cute fics??? anyway comments are appreciated. 
> 
> if u want to feel like ur chest got kicked in but in a good way listen to 'california' by yellowcard for the duration of this fic (its also where I got the title)

superboi™ (4:15PM):hey rob you on?

superboi™ (4:37PM): robbbbbbbbbbbb

superboi™ (5:02PM): cmon man i know you're seeing this.

superboi™ (5:51 PM): tim seriously. you there?

superboi™ (5:53PM): i'll fly over there, you know i will.

robiniii (5:55PM): Conner, chill, I was eating dinner with my dad and Dana.

superboi™ (5:55PM): so i dont have a reason to fly over there? damn.

robiniii (5:57PM): it's... not really the best time, anyway.

robiniii (5:57PM): my dads still really mad at me.

superboi (5:57PM): you up for video? otherwise i really can fly there.

robiniii (5:58PM): don't, batman will kill you and then i'll have to be mad at him again.

superboi™ (5:58PM): i can be stealthy. he won't even know i'm here.

robiniii (5:58PM): conner, you have all the subtlety of an air horn.

superboi™ (5:58PM): hey! i could be stealthy if i wanted!

robiniii (5:59PM): you really couldn't, but it's cute that you think so.

superboi™ (5:59PM): aw you think im cute?

robiniii (6:00PM): well i'd hope so considering i'm currently dating you.

superboi™ (6:00PM): still.

superboi™ (6:01PM): video call?

robiniii (6:02PM): yeah, i'm all set.

superboi™ (6:02PM): see you soon babe

 

Tim leans back with a smile and quietly closes his door. He plugs in his headphones and makes sure the mic is on. The cord twirls around his fingers as he messes with his hair.

_**superboi™ calling...**_ shows up on his screen and, glancing at the door, Tim accepts the call.

Kon's face fills the screen, smiling widely as Tim's face pops up in the user box.

"Tim!" Conner says. "What's up, man?"

"Hey Conner," Tim says, under his breath so that his father can't hear him. "I'm guessing you've heard?"

Conner grimaces. "Yeah. Batman told us."

"All of it?"

Conner pauses. "Uh, none of it, actually. Just that you were done and that we couldn't contact you."

"Yeah. Batman doesn't... share." Tim doesn't really explain anything, and half of it is because he's embarrassed and the other half is pissed at Batman because jesus, these are his _friends_ , the big bad Bat could have at least told them where he was.

"Bart misses you. Doesn't get why you quit," Kon says, and there's a certain glint in his eye - right.

"I'm sure Bart isn't the only one," Tim responds without actually answering Kon's more than obvious question. He knows that Kon is going to get him to answer _eventually_ , but he'd like to at least pretend that he can keep things from Kon for more than five minutes. But he's also tired of lying, tired of evading.

"I miss you guys too." Tim pulls his knees up and wraps his arm around them. "A lot."

"It's not the same without you here. We don't really have a leader."

"Sorry," Tim mutters, looking away from the screen.

"We don't blame you, Tim."

"Yeah, well," Tim says, flicking a piece of dust off the keyboard. "I could have prevented this."

Conner bites his lip. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

"My dad found my Robin costume in my closet. He... well. He freaked," Tim mutters, picking at a loose thread on his sweats, not looking at Conner. "He made me quit."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Kon asks.

"I didn't have any way to contact you guys."

Kon's quiet for a half-beat too long, and when he looks back up the troubled glint in his eyes makes Tim flinch. "I kinda thought you'd have told _me_ , at least." He laughs, shortly. "It kinda sucked to be told by Batman that your boyfriend isn't Robin anymore and you didn't have any idea."

"Conner... I'm -" Tim says, lump in his throat expanding. "I'm sorry, I didn't - my dad took my laptop, and I couldn't find a way to get a message to the Tower-"

"Really, Tim? You? Mr. Tech Extraordinaire, couldn't find a way to talk to us?"

"Conner, I didn't-"

"I mean, you could have just yelled my name out the window and I would have heard it."

"Cause that isn't conspicuous," Tim snaps, folding his arms.

"Better than leaving us all in the dark, dude," Conner says, frowning. "It freaked me out, not being able to reach you. I thought you were hurt, but Batman didn't say anything, and neither did anyone else -

at least until today."

"I - I didn't mean to worry you," Tim says. Kon doesn't look super convinced, and Tim can't really blame him.

"My dad, he - he's really pissed. I can't betray his trust again, Conner."

"Not that I can relate, because Clark's basically the closest thing I have to 'parents' but that's shitty, man. Like doesn't he know how much you love it?" Conner asks, looking concerned .

"Considering he found out a few days ago, I'm giving him some time to freak out about it. It's one thing when your son is just a super-nerdy geek; I don't think he was ready to acknowledge that I was going out into the dangerous world that is Gotham City," Tim explains, acerbic smile crossing his face. "Hopefully he'll get over it once he's well enough for Dana to distract  him."

"Maybe he'll get over it and you can be Robin again," Kon says, and there's such a hopeful glint in his eyes that Tim can barely stand it. He looks away (and isn't he always, always hiding from everything, avoiding emotion like a bat avoids the light, like a bird avoids falling).

"He's so mad at me, Kon," Tim  murmurs. "I don't - I can't come back, I can't lie to him anymore."

"It's okay, Tim, no one's expecting anything to happen right now. We get it. Well. Kinda. I mean, I don't have to hide anything from Ma or Pa, and Cassie's mom knows already, and Bart is literally living with the Flashes, but like. We're with you, man."

Tim breathes out, a short laugh. "Was that supposed to help?"

Kon shrugs, looking embarrassed. "I never said I was good at this type of stuff." He pauses.

"How'd your dad freak? Other than shredding the Robin suit," Kon asks.

"He - he didn't, actually. Actually, um. He went to confront Batman."

"Wait - your dad knows _Batman_?" Conner asks, eyes wide. "How the hell-"

"He uh, he figured it out. It's not as hard if you live in Gotham and know... certain people."

Conner whistles through his teeth. "Damn. What happened?"

"If I just say he confronted him will you let it go?" Tim asks, even though he knows the answer.

"No way, man, I want all the gory details," Conner says, eyes glinting. "All of 'em."

Tim sighs. "Okay, so, basically he thought Batman pressured me into this and told him to stay out of my life. Which," he adds, before Kon can say anything, "isn't true. I made Batman take me on."

Kon looks... weirdly proud of him, smirking and leaning back in his chair. "Got it. You're the most awesome Robin ever, congrats babe."

Tim rolls his eyes. "I wish. But anyway - Br- Batman explains the situation, my dad doesn't believe him-"

"Can't blame him," Kon says.

"And then my dad pulled a gun on him," Tim continues smoothly, pretending like Kon hadn't said anything. He can't lie; the look of absolute shock and awe on Conner's face almost (almost) makes up for all the crap he's been going through recently (almost).

There's a slight creak from the open doorway and Tim freezes, ignoring Kon's freak out on the video. He casually glances over to the hallway and, seeing nothing and hearing nothing else, turns back to the video.

"I can't believe - your dad, your _dad_ , Tim - he pulled a gun on Batman, dude, how did he even get that close, he's probably got more balls than half the Justice League, shit-"

"I've already got the surveillance tapes saved at three different locations," Tim says, relaxing again.

"Please send it to me," Kon begs, laughing. "I can't even picture it happening."

Tim laughs too, resting his hand on his chin and leaning forward. Kon is staring at him with a soft smile.

"What?" Tim asks, feeling his cheeks heat.

"Nothing, just. You're smiling. It's been a while."

"... Oh," Tim says, looking down at his lap. "Sorry."

"No, it's good. I've missed it."

Tim picks at a thread on his sweatpants as they sit there in silence.

"Tim. I don't - I need to ask the question, I guess, because you aren't saying anything." Kon pauses, biting at his bottom lip. It's ironic, really, that for how often Conner chews on his lip he doesn't have any marks to show for it. Side effect of being virtually indestructible, Tim supposes. He should really run some experiments on it. It takes him a few seconds to realize that with his dad's embargo on going out, he won't be able to stop by the Cave in order to actually generate any results. It's sobering, and even though it's been a week since Tim hung up the cape the understanding of what he was actually giving up is starting to catch up with it.

He wonders why it wasn't enough. Why he didn't fight harder to keep it. Why-

"You're doing it again," Kon says, breaking into his thoughts, and he sounds tired. Or resigned. Tim isn't really sure which, but it doesn't sound happy.

"Doing what?" Tim asks. He didn't even say anything.

"You do this - you, like, fall into your head. You get a thousand-yard stare, your breathing evens out to equal time to breathe in and out, and your mouth moves slightly. I know your tells, Tim."

Tim has... forgotten how perceptive Conner has become, and he doesn't like being read this easily.

"What does this mean for us?" Kon asks, and his eyes are too tired for someone who can never age, and Tim hates that he's the one who put that look there. He startles a little at the question, mouth dropping open.

"It means - nothing's changing between us, Conner, I don't - I still want to be with you," Tim says, and it might come out a bit too desperate and clinging because Kon's gaze immediately softens.

"Thank god," he laughs, running a hand through his hair. "I was worried that quitting Robin meant - meant quitting me too."

"Absolutely not," Tim whispers, unconsciously leaning closer to the screen. His fingers reach out and brush against the cold glass, where Conner's cheek is, and he misses him so fiercely, misses his warmth and how he makes Tim feel _protected_ and _himself_ , that it's beginning to throb in his chest.

"Tim." Kon says, and he's looking worried again, and Tim is scared of what might be showing on his face but Kon is the one person he doesn't feel like he needs to hide from. "Are you okay?"

"Not - not really," Tim says, and it's _weird_ to be honest about things, sometimes, but he knows that an 'I'm fine' right now isn't even close to believable.

"Can I do anything?" Kon asks, and Tim's heart swells. He - he doesn't deserve Conner, he really doesn't, but for the moment Conner is here and he's _his_  and Tim is going to bask in it for however long it lasts.

"No, I - I gotta work through some stuff with my dad. And then maybe with Batman. But - I'll be okay," Tim says, nodding. He isn't completely sure if he believes it himself, but self-actualization is half the battle, and Kon is honestly at least a little bit of the other half so Tim knows he'll be okay eventually.

"Tim!" his father calls up the stairs and Tim jumps, glancing guiltily toward the door. Kon follows his gaze with an eyebrow raised in question.

"My dad," Tim says as way of explanation, before covering his mic and calling out that he'll be down in a minute. "I gotta go." His rubs at his eyes, resting his head on his knee. "Sorry."

"Hey." Kon leans closer to the camera. "You don't halfta apologize to me, Tim."

Tim grins at him through the screen,

"I love you," he says, soft smile gracing his face.

Kon smirks. "Of course you do. I'm hot."

It's - Tim just rolls his eyes. "God, I take it back. I take it all back."

"Too late," Kon singsongs, propping his head on his hand and grinning at Tim.

"I need to go," Tim says, laughing.

"Fine, fine," Conner says. "Go be a good son or whatever the hell."

Tim moves to close the screen, but Conner says "Wait, wait wait-" and Tim halts.

"I love you too, Tim. Really."

"Thanks, Conner," Tim says, and closes the screen.

His room is dark without the glow of the screen, and he already misses Conner. It's compounded with anxiety at the thought of going downstairs and facing his father. Because every time his father calls for him he flinches, waits for another one of his secrets to be revealed,

It wouldn't do to keep his father waiting, not while they're trying to rebuild the trust that Tim just completely demolished with the whole Robin thing.

He heads downstairs with his head held up and his hands in his pockets so that no one can see how they're shaking.

 

\--

 

The conversation wasn't too long, Tim's father laying out a few new rules now that his punishment has been (ever so slightly) modified to actually allow Tim contact with the outside world again.

Tim nods through most of it and answers his father when he needs to, going through the motions of 'dutiful son' just enough that his father doesn't say anything and actually looks a bit less disappointed when he leaves.

He slowly walks up the stairs and pauses when he hears a slight rattling noise coming from down the hallway, and his Robin training snaps back into place like a rubber band. Lightly, trying not to make noise, he creeps down the hallway.

He's regretting his dad's decision to move the candles from the hall table, because the holders would be a great weapon right about now.

Not sure about what to expect, Tim throws open the door to his room.

Conner's kneeling in his room and thumbing through his cassettes when Tim pulls open the door. He doesn't even turn as it flies open, holding a tape close to his eyes to read the label. "Really, Tim? Enya? We've talked about this."

Tim is, actually, kinda proud that he didn't jump a freakin' mile, because who the _hell_ sits around in a dark room and waits for someone to walk in??

...

Right.

"Conner, _what the hell_ -"

" _D_ _epeche Mode_? Seriously, Rob, this might be grounds for a break-up-"

"How did you know where to find me?" Tim asks, shutting the door behind him. He's praying that his father won't come upstairs now, because their relationship is tenuous enough without him having to explain the sudden (and, Tim needs to address,  _uninvited_ ) appearance of Superboy in his bedroom. "And stop judging my music collection!"

Kon rolls his eyes and drops the last of Tim's cassettes. He shoots him a blinding smile, grabbing Tim's hand between his. "I'll always be able to find you, Tim," he says.

Tim laughs. "Okay. Sure. Whatever. The real reason, please?"

Kon draws back, mouth dropping open. "I can't believe you think I'm lying, Tim, I would absolutely never lie to you, why, the very _idea_ -"

"Okay, okay, shh," Tim whispers, leaning forward and covering Kon's mouth. "I don't want my dad to hear you."

"He won't, promise. Plus, I'm keeping an ear out for him and Dana just in case they come up here." Conner flexes, like muscles have anything to do with the fact that he has superhearing, and grins. "Superboyfriend to the rescue again!"

"I thought we agreed that I'd break up with you if you said that phrase again?" Tim asks, raising an eyebrow.

"And _I_  thought we were both on the same page about how I was gonna totally ignore that?" Kon counters.

The blinds flutter against the window in the breeze, one of the remnants from Conner's oh-so-subtle entrance. Tim reaches over to close the window, back to Conner.

"If you gotta know." Kon self-consciously rubs at the back of his neck, speaking to Tim's back. "I tracked your heartbeat," he admits.

"Really? Out of the millions of people in Gotham, you heard my heartbeat?" Tim asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. In my defense, I've gotten pretty familiar with what your heartbeat sounds like. And at least it's not something weirder, like tracking your scent or whatever."

Tim pauses for a second. "Could you... can you actually do that?"

Kon just stares at him. "No, you freak, I can't trace your _scent_. That's why we have Krypto, jesus."

"I was just asking," Tim says, trying to act offended but failing to hide his smile.

"Yeah, okay, you're definitely running ideas for tests in your head and I'm not going to participate, by the way," Kon says, moving to the windowsill. He perches on the end and glances around Tim's room. "Nice place."

"Conner, how come you flew all the way over here? The Tower is pretty far away."

"You sounded pretty sad, dude. And it's not a bad flight on a nice night," Kon explains, gesturing toward the window. The smog of Gotham usually obscures even the brightest star, but Conner must be right about it being a nice night because Tim can see a few.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, or anything, but. You really flew out here because I sounded sad?"

"Well, yeah," Conner says. He reaches out and pulls on Tim's sleeve. Tim happily moved forward into Conner's embrace. feeling a flutter in his stomach when Kon squeezes him tight.

"And I kinda felt bad for yelling, earlier. I mean, you obviously had reasons for not saying anything. I don't regret pushing you to tell me, I mean, but I could have been less of a dick about it."

"And I could have told you what was happening. I'm sorry for keeping it from you."

Tim is quiet for a moment, just holding on. There's always been something about Conner, something solid and strong, that makes him feel safe. Even back in Young Justice, when Tim did everything physically possible to push his friends away, just _talking_  to Conner for all of five minutes helped ground him. All of them had their strengths. Cassie was great at listening, Bart was great at distracting you, Conner was great at talking (once he'd matured a bit), and Tim was great at. Numbers, not people. He was good at leading.

But that's a dangerous path to go down even in his own mind, especially now that he won't be wearing the yellow and green, so he changes the subject.

"So. Did you run into Batman or were you trying to be stealthy?" Tim asks, nudging him.

"Ah," Kon mutters, looking away. "We might have talked."

"And what does that mean?"

Kon looks... distinctly uncomfortable. "There may have been a - slight altercation. With the stand-in Robin."

"You fought with Steph?" Tim asks, dumbfounded. "She's been Robin for all of two minutes."

"Yeah, well, it's your job anyway and she wouldn't tell me where you were," Kon mutters.

"What happened?"

"I might have grabbed her decel line. Batman might have been supremely pissed. Whatever, it happens, we all make mistakes, now please stop torturing me?" Kon pleads.

"My own clone boy, bracing the big bad Bat for little old me... I'm touched," Tim says, nudging Kon with his elbow.

"Whatever, man, you know I'd do anything for you in a heartbeat." Kon ruffles Tim's hair and smiles softly at him.

Tim's entire career as Robin might be over, his world might be imploding, but Conner has always been the one constant and Tim can't help but love him for it.

Tim stretches up on his tiptoes, pressing his lips to Kon's.

"Thank you," Tim whispers against Kon's mouth, pulling him closer. "I don't deserve you."

"You really do," Kon whispers back. "You deserve the world, Tim."

He... he doesn't, not really and not yet, but he wouldn't be able to let go of Conner, ever. And Conner is his world, so Tim is holding on to him as tightly as he can.


End file.
